Example Application Paper for PSY 325 (Social Behavior)
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The Stress of Daily Driving
According to Gulian, Glendon, Matthews, Davies and Debney (1990), driver stress has
become a major concern in European communities, given that more than half of the European
workforce commute to work via private automobile. Specifically, the negative effects of driver
stress have been demonstrated through increased physical symptoms (e.g. work absenteeism),
psychological symptoms (e.g. disrupted mood and aggression), and performance difficulties (e.g.
occupational accidents and reduced productivity). For some drivers, stress can result from a
general dislike of driving, where they come to view driving as a generally stressful event. For
other drivers, it is specific events rather than the act of driving itself that leads to stress.
Gulian et al. (1990) have chosen to focus on the general stress experiences in their
research and developed a diary in order to explore the personal and situational factors, both
within and outside the driving environment, that might increase the general tendency to view
driving as stressful. Their past research has found that some drivers are more likely than others
to develop a general stressful tendency concerning driving, and that personal characteristics like
a desire for control, can increase driver stress levels even more (Gulian, Matthews, Glendon,
Davies, & Debney, 1989). The diary consisted of questions about the journey (e.g. congestion
level, types of roads), current problems at home/work, current health, and quality of sleep.
Drivers were then asked about their feelings while driving and before leaving work, and then
allowed to provide open ended comments about their daily experiences with driving, work, and
leisure. Their results indicated that driver stress was related to negative driving experiences,
such as traffic jams and being in a hurry, but also to problems outside the driving environment,
including lack of sleep and work fatigue.
Example Application Paper for PSY 325 (Social Behavior)
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I believe that Gulian et al. (1990) apply a great deal to my life because I drive for almost
an hour every day and would consider myself someone that finds driving fairly stressful. Upon
reflecting on my own experiences over the past few days, I have seen that it is not only the act of
driving itself that makes me stressed while driving, but some of the things that have happened at
work or home. For example, one day last week I had to drive to Niagara Falls for 6:00 PM and
was supposed to get off work at 5:00 PM which would have given me plenty of time to reach my
destination. However, another employee was late coming in to work and I had to stay to cover.
As a result, I didn’t get to leave work until nearly 5:30 PM which gave me half an hour to drive a
25 minute trip.
Just as with Gulian et al. (1990), my experience reflects the influence of personal factors,
driving events, and non-driving events on the actual experience of stress. On a personal level, I
am the type that doesn’t like to be late and would rather have control of everything that goes on
around me. In this case, my coworker and now other drivers were controlling my time, so I felt
rushed. Once I got on the 190, the actual traffic was a little slower than usual so my urgency and
lack of control increased even more. As a result, my stress levels kept getting higher and higher
as the trip went on. I started to try things to go faster, but they didn’t work, reflecting back on
my lack of control. When I finally got to my destination I was completely stressed out and
didn’t have a very good time. The next morning, I felt more tired and irritated when driving
back into work, which could easily have been due to the bad experience the night before. In
sum, I believe that driving stress really is influenced by a complex interaction of personal
experiences and hassles in life.
Example Application Paper for PSY 325 (Social Behavior)
References
Gulian, E., Glendon, A. I., Matthews, G., Davies, D. R., & Debney, L. M. (1990). The stress of
driving: A diary study. Work and Stress, 4, 7-16.
Gulian, E., Matthews, G., Glendon, A. I., Davies, D. R., & Debney, L. M. (1989). Dimensions
of driver stress. Ergonomics, 32, 585-602.
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